Friendship Circle of Ottawa

Pure Friendship for Individuals with Special Needs

Our Mission

Friendship Circle creates friendship in the lives of individuals with special needs and those facing isolation while providing an opportunity to become a contributing member of the community. Through our programming, Friendship Circle aims to promote an inclusive community that values all individuals regardless of the challenges they face.

Friendship Redefined

ALTHOUGH SOME CHILDREN AND TEENS MAY ACT IN WAYS THAT WOULD LEAD ONE TO BELIEVE THEY HAVE LITTLE DESIRE TO BE SOCIAL, A LACK OF SOCIAL SKILLS DOES NOT MEAN A LACK OF SOCIAL INTEREST. WE HOPE TO FOSTER FRIENDSHIPS WHERE SOCIAL BARRIERS DO NOT EXIST, AND DIFFERENT FORMS OF FRIENDSHIP AND SOCIAL INTERACTION ARE ACCEPTEd: The purest form of friendship.

It was an absolute pleasure visiting Jenna and Maya who were featured in a news story for the Community Voice newspaper!

One of our long-standing volunteers, Sophie, at the home of two of her buddies along with coordinator, Elinore Rabin. Sophie will be greatly missed as she has moved on to university this Fall, but promises to keep in touch. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors! Fortunately, the two families Sophie was working with have been placed with new volunteers and we hope that new friendships will soon blossom!

The map pinpoints the locations of families that have yet to be paired with a volunteer. We hope to find each of them a special new friend very soon! Thank you again to all the volunteers that came out for our summer training session.

Friendship Circle is in the news! Thank you, Community Voice, for featuring a story about Jenna and Maya’s friendship and the impact Friendship Circle has had on their lives.

World-renowned speech pathologist, Dr. Gail Scher spoke to our new volunteers. She provided us with invaluable information about autism and answered questions from our new volunteers. What an interesting presentation!

Scott and his two buddies enjoy board games among other activities during their visits. It was a blast hanging out with these incredibly intelligent and hilarious guys.

A perfect metaphor for parents and caregivers of children with special needs. What a positive outlook to keep in mind.

Friendship Circle Director Devora Caytak and coordinator Elinore Rabin joined four other women representing two other wonderful charities: Autism Ontario Ottawa Chapter and Serenity Renewal for Families at the Fall 2019 Gathering for 100 Women Who Care. We thank all of the awesome women involved in supporting each of the charities that participated. Thank you SO much for your incredible generosity!!